BMW made a name for themselves as the German carmaker that produces the "Ultimate Driving Machines". Back in 1972, their motorsport division, the one we know as M, was founded initially to facilitate their racing program using the 3.0 CSL, perhaps better known as the Batmobile, which was instrumental in transforming BMW's brand identity to the public.

It wasn't until the spring of 1985 that BMW truly made a sports car that would become a benchmark for its competitors to beat, a car that, together with its predecessor, was born out of motorsports. It's no other than the legendary BMW M3. Five generations later, the iconic car continues to deliver the sheer driving pleasure expected from a BMW M car. Over the years, the German auto giant came up with special M3 versions that clearly stood out from the rest, and we're here to run down the 10 ultimate BMW M3 versions ever made.

10 E30 M3 DTM

We start off our list with the car that made the M3 name an icon — the M3 DTM. This car blew away the competition during the Group A days of touring car racing, and took the conquered flag for a record 41 times in the DTM series.

Not only that, but it also bagged championship titles in the World Touring Car Championship, European Touring Car, British Touring Cars, Italia Superturismo and even in the Australian Touring Car Series from 1987 until 1992, where it was replaced by the E36.

RELATED: Here's How Much A Classic BMW E30 M3 Is Worth Today

9 E46 M3 CSL

Many BMW enthusiasts would agree that the E46 M3 was the perfect blend of muscle and finesse. The car remained energetic like its predecessors, the E30 and the E36, while gaining creature comforts to make it a lot more liveable on a daily basis.

And of course, there's still that hardcore, track-focused version of the E46 called the CSL, which stands for Coupe, Sport and Lightweight, that BMW enthusiasts lust about. Road and Track even claim the E46 M3 was "the BMW M3 formula perfected".

RELATED: Here’s How Much A BMW E46 M3 CSL Costs Today

8 G80 M3 Competition

Next on our list is the most powerful, and the most luxurious M3 ever made — the latest G80 M3 Competition. While its elongated kidney grille left some BMW enthusiasts scratching their heads, there's one thing the new M3 never falls short of, and that's luxurious performance.

There's a quantum leap forward in terms of interior design and creature comforts, but it also has one of the sharpest front-ends you could get on a BMW M car. That means you could record some insanely fast lap times around the track while sitting pretty in a cloud-like leather bucket seat.

RELATED: BMW Takes The M3 & M4 Competition Out For Some Drifting Fun

7 E30 M3 Sport Evolution

Here's the road-going version of the E30 M3 DTM — the M3 Sport Evolution. This was a purebred driver's car, and it was the first of the only two M3 homologation specials ever made.

Sporting a lower ride height than the standard E30 M3, the Sport Evolution also had the 2.3-liter four-cylinder bumped up to 2.5 liters, with an increased power output of 238 hp. Because it was a homologation model, the car also had an adjustable front splitter and rear wing.

6 E90 M3 GTS

The E90 series of the M3 has the distinction of being the last generation to come out with a naturally-aspirated engine, but boy did it go out with a bang, as the car also was the only production M3 with V8 power.

Then there's the M3 GTS, a limited-edition track-focused version of the E90, that has a distinctive Fire Orange color and a fixed rear wing. Its 4.4-liter V8 engine produces 444 hp, and weighs 300 lbs lighter than the standard M3. With only 135 units made worldwide, this car's a surefire modern classic.

5 E36 M3 Lightweight

The E36 kickstarted the transition of the M3 from being a genuine racer for the road to becoming a softer grand tourer. While many purists initially did not approve of this move, in the end, the car was eventually hailed as one of the finest handling cars of the 1990s.

Its ultimate version came in the form of the M3 Lightweight. True to its name, this particular version was 200 lbs lighter than the standard E36. Its sound deadening was removed, together with the A/C, the radio, the sunroof, and even the leather seats, then, the doors were made out of aluminum to complete the weightloss diet. With only about 125 examples made during its model run, the car now fetches over $100,000.

4 F80 M3 CS

And so we've come to the modern M3 that we see nowadays. Four-door sedan, rear-wheel-drive, and powered by a twin-turbo straight-six. The three-door coupes are no longer called M3s but M4s. Those began with the F80 series.

Before the F80 bowed out in 2018, BMW gave it a fitting end with the ultimate version called the CS, or the Competition Sport. Lots of CFRPs (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics) were used to save around 25 lbs of weight versus the standard M3, and it has 10% more power, pushing the number to 454.

3 E36 M3 GTR

Now we go back to the racing versions of the M3, and here's the successor of the Group A-spec E30 — the M3 GTR. This car competed in the German ADAC GT Cup, and like its predecessor, the car was highly successful, especially in the hands of Johnny Cecotto.

The car is indeed extremely rare, as according to CarBuzz, there were only four of these existing in the world, and all of them are kept by BMW.

2 E46 M3 GTR

We're pretty sure that anyone who has played Need For Speed: Most Wanted will remember the M3 GTR, but it's more than just a street racing video game hero car. In fact, this is the very first M3 to be powered by a flat-plane crank V8 engine.

More importantly, this purpose-built race car ended Porsche's reign back in the early 2000s in the American Le Mans Series GT Class. There was a road-going version of the M3 GTR to satisfy homologation requirements called the Strassenversion, that's called by BMW M as the unicorn among the E46 M3 models, as only 10 were made.

1 E90 M3 GT2

Last but not least is another racing version that continued the M3's tradition of winning — the M3 GT2. Like the E46 M3 GTR, it competed in the American Le Mans Series, and lasted from 2009 until 2012.

Its most notable victories came in the 2010 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the 2010 ILMC 1000km of Zhuhai, and two consecutive class wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring.